Orchardsons somewhat belated inclusion in the Vanity Fair sequence Men of the Day was perhaps prompted by his election in 1897 as master of the Society of Portrait Painters, and by his commission for a group portrait of four generations of the royal family (NPG 4536).

The lithograph reproduction, which closely follows the drawing while giving the garments a slightly darker brown tone, was entitled Artist and R.A, while the accompanying text gave a brief account of his career, stressing also his liking for sports and domestic life. It concludes:

Though he is an artist he never smokes; yet he is an all-round sportsman who can play billiards. He loves beautiful things; but takes no interest in his dress. In spite of his Scotch birth he has a sense of humour, and though he is a good talker he seldom speaks of himself or his art. He is now hard at work upon his picture of Four Generations. [1]